Separating the art from the artist has been a controversial point of discourse since the late 20th century and has only become more prevalent as ‘cancel culture’ infiltrates society. For those who don’t know, separating the art from the artists entails consuming and appreciating art regardless of the artists’ history, world views, or vices. This comes easier with some art than others such that a musical artist likely won’t incorporate overly political lyrics but a script writer might include some covert comments in the name of comedy. It’s obvious that there are exceptions to these guidelines, however there are art forms that tend to reflect the artists’ agenda more than others.
‘Cancel culture’ has not been kind to celebrities of any sort, poking and prodding their lives until they find a problematic tidbit to share with the world. Whether it is a tweet from middle school years or active and proud sexism, ‘cancel culture’ is sure to pin you down at the hands of justice. Lately, there is hardly any celebrity who hasn’t had something brought up, whether serious enough to cancel them or not. Though I think ‘cancel culture’ has gotten out of hand, shifting the morals from justice to punishment for any action no matter how trivial, I do find it important to shed light on the serious matters. The question is, should it affect how their art is viewed?
Not separating the art from the artist is an act of boycotting the artist, refusing to appreciate and consume their art in the name of punishment. Musical artists are only compensated when they have an audience streaming their songs. Supporters of the unison of the art and the artist argue that by supporting their works, you are supporting their views and opinions. However, it’s not fair to put those implications on someone who is simply appreciating a work of art. I don’t think that by listening to a song, you are subjecting yourself to their same views because, in reality, you’re acknowledging the talent that went into creating a good song. Separating the art from the artist is a way of looking at art without biases. It allows the viewer to consume art the way it was meant to be consumed.
With that being said, there are instances where boycotting an artist’s art is called for and can be effective, however, I am not one who can set up those boundaries. Without forcing ourselves to choose what offense is offensive enough to elicit justice, we must lean towards separating the art from the artist in order to encourage and fully grasp various art forms. If we start punishing artists for trivial actions performed years prior, we will have no art left. We are all human which means we all inevitably make mistakes, some worse than others. Acknowledging someone’s artistry does not mean you align with their views, nor does it mean you support everything they do. Appreciating art should not come with political or social implications because enjoying the art and supporting the artist' worldviews are two entirely different things.
This was a really thoughtful take on a very pertinent topic. Cancel culture has greatly disrupted being able to appreciate one’s art in the way that I think people avoid enjoying art from someone that might not have a “perfect” background out of fear that by consuming that art they are in some way supporting whatever past action the artist committed. I don’t think it’s fair at all and holds people back from both making and enjoying things like music. It’s a ridiculous standard to set that you have to be an upstanding person in order to create. As you said, if we held everyone to have a perfectly clean record before they released anything, we would have no art…
I think it is very important to separate the artists from the art. Because if you think about it, everyone has some kind of background or more specifically everyone has something that will offend someone else. But when looking or consuming art, you do not think about that directly unless you get exposed to the artists background. So you can enjoy the art without actually knowing anything about the artists. Actually, the cool thing about art is that the artists interpretation of it is open to interpretation which is cool. I think for the most part art is enjoyed without knowing anything about the artists. But if this becomes the norm and cancel culture grows, people will stop making art…
I completely agree with you. I also think there’s something very hypocritical about liking something then disliking it because of another person’s actions, views, etc. As ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, the true value of art is determined by those who ‘consume’ it. The artist makes something, but usually the art is not meant for them. The artist doesn’t have the power to dictate whether you love something; only you can do that. I think if you love a piece of art, then later on decide you hate the artist, and therefore decide you now dislike the art, you are compromising your own integrity. What if it’s fake news? What if the artist recoups for themselves later…